Golden light blazed across the night.
Wrapped in a cloak of Nine-Tails chakra that burned like living fire, Shinzuki Yu floated above the battlefield.
Nine massive golden tails danced behind him, stirring violent winds through the sky.
He withdrew the Sage chakra he had been channeling into Kushina.
It had pulled her back from death’s doorstep.
For now…
That was enough.
His gaze shifted toward the center of Konoha.
Toward the gigantic fox tearing the village apart.
“…You’re making far too much noise.”
His figure blurred.
A streak of golden light remained where he had stood.
In the next instant…
He was already hovering directly in front of the raging Nine-Tails.
Kurama froze.
Its enormous crimson eyes locked onto the tiny figure suspended before it.
The chakra radiating from that human…
Made even its soul tremble.
It felt familiar.
The same origin…
Yet infinitely purer.
Greater.
More majestic.
It was as though…
A king had suddenly found himself standing before an emperor.
“…Rrrgh?”
Kurama let out a low growl.
Confusion…
And instinctive fear…
Filled its voice.
Why…
Why did this human possess Nine-Tails chakra that surpassed even its own?
Yu’s expression remained calm.
He simply raised a hand.
“Settle down.”
“Big fox.”
Asura’s chakra merged seamlessly with his Sage chakra and golden Nine-Tails cloak.
An ancient Uzumaki sealing technique answered his call.
Adamantine Sealing Chains!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Dozens of radiant golden chains burst into existence behind him.
They were far more solid than Kushina’s.
Far stronger.
Their surfaces were covered with intricate chakra markings infused with the Nine-Tails’ own power.
Like living serpents…
They shot toward Kurama with impossible speed.
“ROOOAAARRR!!”
Kurama swung a massive claw in resistance.
It didn’t matter.
The chains shattered its chakra defenses effortlessly.
They wrapped tightly around its limbs…
Its torso…
Its tails…
Digging deep into flesh and chakra alike.
Pain.
And an overwhelming pressure that reached into the very depths of its existence.
Its resistance vanished almost instantly.
The colossal beast was bound from head to tail before crashing helplessly into the earth.
BOOM!
Dust exploded into the night sky.
The once-invincible Nine-Tails…
Now looked less like a legendary calamity…
And more like an oversized cat tied up in rope.
It whimpered.
Not a trace of its previous savagery remained.
Every shinobi fighting throughout Konoha stopped in disbelief.
The golden figure…
The effortless suppression of the Nine-Tails…
The scene engraved itself into everyone’s memory forever.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood frozen halfway through a hand seal.
Even the Adamantine Staff nearly slipped from his grasp.
“…Who…”
“…is that?”
Yu’s attention shifted toward a secluded corner near the edge of the village.
A lone figure had already begun retreating.
“Running already?”
A cold smile touched his lips.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
His figure vanished again.
Obito’s heart pounded violently.
Everything had gone wrong.
The Nine-Tails…
Had been subdued.
Effortlessly.
Who was that golden figure?
He could clearly sense chakra with the same origin as Kurama’s…
Yet incomparably stronger.
I have to leave.
Now.
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly.
Kamui.
He attempted to phase into his dimensional space.
Then—
Space distorted violently before him.
Yu appeared directly in his path.
“…!!”
Obito’s eye widened.
Space-Time Ninjutsu?!
And…
faster than his own?!
“Our first meeting.”
“…Or perhaps…”
“It’s been a long time.”
“Obito Uchiha.”
Yu’s calm voice echoed through the night.
Obito’s entire body stiffened.
The color drained from his face beneath the shattered mask.
How…
How does he know my name?!
“…Who are you?!”
His voice cracked despite himself.
“Someone here…”
“…to correct your terrible script.”
Yu’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan slowly turned.
A vastly deeper…
Far more overwhelming…
Spatial power erupted from his left eye.
“In front of my Kamui…”
“Yours is nothing but an inferior imitation.”
The instant those words fell…
Obito felt it.
The dimensional space he controlled…
His greatest weapon…
Was being forcibly disrupted.
His phasing faltered.
His body flickered between solidity and intangibility.
A fatal opening.
Impossible!
Kamui…
My Kamui is being suppressed?!
His greatest trump card…
The very foundation of tonight’s plan…
Had been completely overpowered.
“It’s over.”
Yu’s voice sounded like a final judgment.
His fist…
Wrapped in blazing golden chakra and immense Sage power…
Shot forward.
There were no flashy techniques.
Just absolute strength.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Obito couldn’t dodge.
Couldn’t defend.
CRACK!!
A sickening explosion of bone echoed through the battlefield.
His right arm…
Along with much of his shoulder…
Simply exploded beneath the punch.
Blood.
Bone.
Flesh.
Everything scattered through the air.
“AAAAAAAGH!!”
Obito screamed.
The orange spiral mask shattered completely under the impact.
Fragments flew everywhere.
For the first time…
His scarred face was exposed beneath the moonlight.
One half was twisted with burn scars.
The other still carried traces of the boy he had once been.
His Mangekyō Sharingan was bloodshot with agony.
The pain nearly knocked him unconscious.
His flawless plan…
Had collapsed in an instant.
And standing before him…
Was someone with an even stronger Kamui.
Someone possessing utterly overwhelming power.
“You…”
“…Who…”
Obito clenched his teeth.
His Sharingan spun desperately.
He tried to activate Kamui once more.
Yu gave him no chance.
Golden light flashed repeatedly through the night.
Every punch.
Every kick.
Every movement.
Perfectly predicted Obito’s next action.
Every attempt to counter…
Interrupted.
Every escape…
Denied.
Obito felt like a tiny boat swallowed by a hurricane.
His taijutsu looked childish.
His Kamui…
Pathetic.
BOOM!
Another punch slammed into his chest.
Several ribs shattered instantly.
His organs lurched violently.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
His body flew backward like a broken kite before crashing into a massive boulder.
The entire rock exploded on impact.
“Cough…”
“Cough…!”
Obito lay buried among the rubble.
One arm gone.
Multiple fractures throughout his body.
His chakra nearly exhausted.
This wasn’t a man.
It was a monster.
No…
Something even worse.
For the first time in his life…
True fear swallowed him whole.
Complete.
Absolute.
He had never imagined defeat could feel this hopeless.
This overwhelming.
It was as though…
This man had been born solely to counter him.
“…Why…”
“…Why…”
He stared blankly upward.
His revenge.
The Eye of the Moon Plan.
Everything…
Was falling apart.
Yu walked toward him without hurry.
Looking down from above.
“Your script…”
“Had far too many holes.”
“It’s time for your exit.”
Obito suddenly raised his head.
Gathering every last ounce of strength…
His Sharingan spun once more.
He couldn’t die here.
Kamui!
His body twisted as dimensional space began swallowing him.
This time…
Yu didn’t stop him.
Someone whose fangs had been broken…
Whose spirit had already learned fear…
No longer interested him.
Obito disappeared into the swirling vortex.
Leaving behind only blood…
And the shattered remains of his mask.
He had escaped.
But he carried wounds that would never fully heal.
Neither on his body…
Nor in his mind.
The golden chakra cloak slowly faded.
The nine tails disappeared one by one.
Yu turned back toward Konoha.
The village still burned.
But the Nine-Tails’ furious roars had fallen silent.
Kurama remained tightly bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains…
Unable to move even an inch.
With a wave of his hand…
Minato and Kushina appeared beside him.
“It’s time…”
“…to deal with this big fox.”
Minato looked at the bound Nine-Tails…
Then at the unfathomable young man standing beside him.
Words failed him.
Kushina silently clasped her husband’s hand.
Her eyes were filled with relief…
And gratitude.